Sometimes you hear new songs that you like and can’t get them out of your head. You start to search which bands made those songs, look for more information on the net and finally you are behind the wheel, taking a ride with my best friend, uhh, vintage beetle to Belgium.



Destination was the “Dependent Day”at the Eland the Gent, where 3 bands from the recordlabel Dependent would perform. The Eland is a small quite industrial place, nice and fitting for alternative and all kinds of electronic music.

Before the gigs, I had a small talk backstage in the kitchen with Sigve Monsen (Pride & Fall, vocals and lyrics), and Frank Spinath (Seabound, vocals and lyrics also). Both nice guys, overloading me with so much information in about 10 minutes time that my even my oldfashionated shorthandwriting seems to be slow.



Both bands tour together at the moment and just came from Utrecht, Holland (probably for foreigners the worst place to pronounce ;-). Only Seabound performed there yesterday, Pride & Fall had played there only a couple of months ago. So far, the responses to the gigs from the crowd were very good and bands like to tour around and the response from the public.

Pride & Fall was founded in 2000 in Norway and released their first album Nephish September last year, Seabound is from Germany, and trough the contact from Frank with Covenant the band came in contact with Dependent records, and they released their 2nd album earlier this year. Influences by NIN, Dead can Dance, Front 242 and a bit of DM of course ;-)

Their tour started last week in Germany. For all the bands and recordlabel, these kind of tours are in fact a financial risk, because no one could predict how much people would be attend of course. Also, nowadays of course such things as the downloadingissue don’t work well also and does have negative effect on small recordlabels and their artist. That’s the reason why they bring 3 bands together in a gig, for this tour was also chosen to for a giveaway, a free CD for every visitor. (nice !! ) Really value for money, me thinks… :-)

At least, Frank told me his message that he was really pleased that those days he felt like “going back to the roots”. Electronic music was populair in the past, and nowadays it is back, ready for a next generation so it is like closing a circle. He was really happy to play also in Belgium, the home of Front 242 of course, which was certainly one of his most inspiring bands.

Showtime: First on stage was the band Rotersand. A band I personally didn’t know, although I recognised one song during the gig. You couln’t blame the singer for not being enthousiastic, he even did a kind of unplanned stagediving. Personally it wasn’t my kind of music, but for the ones who like to have a heavy dance, check it out..

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Second was Pride and Fall: Nice performance, alltough a few technical difficulties appear. Their sound is absolutely danceable, fresh and dark meanwhile and some great lyrics.



Last but not least: Seabound: although I did only know a few of their songs, I could only describe them as a nice surprise. Ballads and dancing, great lyrics to think about also. Check them out, you will not regret it.



So, at 12 o’clock it was finished. The afterparty was cancelled through restrictions of the firemen (don’t know, but on the stairs to the hall there were about 100 candles burning) For the crowd a disappointment of course, for this aged-reporter is was a good time for a long journey home ;-).

Special thanks to Pride&Fall, Seabound and Dependent
Photo's by Erik and DutchB.
all photo's on www.bilsen.com/Gent2004
websites: www.prideandfall.com www.seabound.de